(Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's administration fired the independent inspectors general of at least 12 major federal agencies late on Friday, the Washington Post reported. The agencies include the departments of defense, state, transportation, veterans affairs, housing and urban development, interior, and energy, the newspaper said.

U.S. President Donald Trump fired 17 independent watchdogs at multiple government agencies on Friday, a person with knowledge of the matter said, eliminating a critical oversight component and clearing the way to replace them with loyalists.

The internal government watchdogs were believed to have been dismissed at several major agencies, though the Justice Department’s was not said to have been among them.